Engines are, of course, pretty much 'shared' these days already though. And it seems (witness Dallara supposedly doing the Haas tub) that even that requirement is not what it once was. I'm a staunch believer that you must be a 'manufacturer' to play in F1. To me that means doing your own tub at the very least. 'Standard' 'boxes I guess I'm ok with - Hewland dominated that game for years as we know. Brakes? Seems Brembo's got that pretty sewed up. I guess I'm even ok(ish) with standard crash structures as long as that doesn't mandate suspension geometry and layout etc. Although, we wouldn't have seen the 'diversity' in fugly noses this year I guess...... A 'standard' active suspension system does concern me however - I think if they're going to bring it back it should be open house, at least for the first season or two. But, it was outlawed the first time round on grounds of cost, so who the hell knows.... Anyway, seems Todts pissed that he's getting no where with the cost cap - he's now asked 'the small teams', who are in favor of course, to come up with their own ideas..... Dunno if even they can agree to anything though.... I thought it last died earlier this year!? First time it's died again in what, six months?..... Cheers, Ian
By chassis do you mean tub? An F1 car is such an integrated design these days mandating one component will, in effect, determine the design of a number of otherwise unmandated components. As we've seen supposed cost cutting measures end up resulting in increased costs. An existing engine, no matter how expensive it was to design initially, will be less expensive than a new "cheaper" motor.
Exactly right. Also, and I pointed this out years ago, if teams have a budget available, they're going to spend it. They'll fine SOMEWHERE to spend it. We saw this with the engine freeze. What happened? The teams spent the money on sims and super computers running CFD. They'll never reduce costs when the teams have the money to spend. Mark
Yup The do have engine freeze rules which I am OK with for 3 or 4 years. If you have an engine you can design the tub to fit each year given the tweaks to the rules. Some say (not you) stop changing the rules. F1 is all about adapting to a new set of rules each year. Its the essence of the sport.
In my younger years I had visions of campaigning a March tub, Cosworth,and Hewland box and having it out. Like the Orange Beta tools March. Vittorio Brambilla was my Walter Mitty hero.
That's an interesting take and may well be true under the current rules but traditionally F1 was about winning through innovation within very broad parameters. Costs and safety are legitimate concerns and restrictions are needed but many of the choices made by the FIA in recent years have been illogical.
When teams were smaller the rules were less defined. As they grew, with more expertise and money, the rules became more stringent. Had to.
I get what you're saying now. When the sponsor cash grew they could afford better tech and so more speed. With higher speed the cars had to be made safer. I'd add that increases in sponsorship brought a new broader audience. One that didn't share the same tolerance for accidents and death that had been typical in the old days. In other words F1 became a business and the violent nature of the sport became bad for business.
